Patron Citronge? It's been out quite a while. I like it quite a bit - it has a unique taste profile that's nicely balanced and only a little "different" - not different enough to confuse a cocktail, but different enough to make some more interesting.
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I just purchased a Cointreau knock-off made by the Italian distiller Luxardo called Triplum. WOW, it is SPOT ON Cointreau, at half the price! I dislike cheap triple sec (Hiram Walker, Bols, DeKuyper, etc) and I stick to Cointreau, not only for Tiki cocktails but for other classics like the Sidecar, Margarita, French 75 and others. The use of cheap triple sec or a bad Cointreau knock-off in these drinks show like a red flag. However, this Luxardo Triplum was indistinguishable from the real mccoy.

The best part is that it's half the price of Cointreau. Try it sometime if you come across it. Here's their website if you want to check it out:

If you happen to live in my area, and you don't mind Hiram Walker stuff. the Wine and Liquor Depot has a whole table full of Hiram Walker Orange Curacao on sale for $3.99 each, They also have H W Creme de Casis, And H W Creme de Menthe for sale. I was there today and there was plenty left.

I have to add Rhum Clement "Creole Shrubb to this throw down.
As of yesterday when I first tried this at the Wine Warehouse tasting, its my new favorite( including Marie Bizzard )

Ben, who's family has been making rum since 1887, is rightfully proud of this orange liquor. I thought to myself as he poured it, lets see how it compares to a good curacao, I was blown away. Almost too good to use in drinks but I have to.

Ben is the GM and VP at Rhum Clement and I invited him to join us here since he is into Tiki and all. (Hey Ben)
What a story his family has, the history of Rhum Clement starting in the 1800's. Talk about rum doing good, how about saving a island? Read below
Ben invites everyone to visit him at Tiki Oasis where Rhum Clement will have a portable bar. Stop by and say hi and try this orange liquor, see what you think.

quote
Clement Creole Shrubb

Clement Creole Shrubb is a blends of white and aged rums with mascerated creole spices and sun-bleached bitter orange peels.

“ A supple silky entry leads into a glycerous and moderately sweet medium body of rock candy, honey, dried orange and grapefruit peel, and a dash of pepper. Finishes in a creamy sweet orange and peppery spice fade with a coppery tang. Vibrant, purely flavored and well intergrated.”

In the latter half of the nineteenth century, Martinique was the source of the highest quality of sugar for Europe and was the epicenter for all Caribbean sugar commerce. By 1883, a great sugar crisis overtook the island because European countries used less expensive sugar from South and Central America, In 1887, Homere Clement, the mayor of Le Francois, purchased the prestigious sugar plantation in his village.
Out of banlrupsy. His intentions were simply to stop the rioting planter’s and have them return to the fields to harvest sugarcane again, not to be refined into sugar, but to be pressed for their natural juice and to distill rum. He took the imaginative idea from the brandy producers of southern France who were distilling grape wine into Cognacs. Homere is now coined as the father of Agricole.

I'm going to chime in about Clement's Creole Shrubb. It's makes for an exquisite mai tai. At TikiBocce III, we went through an entire 750ml bottle of it in about two hours, just using 1/2oz. in our mai tai. Word got out around the party and everyone had to have one.

Definitely pick up a bottle if you see it.
_________________"If you can't be a good example -- then you'll just have to be a horrible warning."-Catherine Aird

Stop by the Clement bar at Tiki Oasis and sample the Creole Shrub. Ben is also part of the rum symposium on Saturday and will be sampling Clement rums. Say hello for all of us TCers who wish we were there.

I tried the Shrubb while in St. Barth's last year, and the bottle, just like the one pictured above, didn't last 3 days. I had help, but it did not feel like heavy drinking.

At Oasis, I stumbled into the Norcal room Friday night, and made some killin' Mai Tais at 1am, using the Shrubb. I hadn't thought of that last year, but I'm now a believer. A Shrubb-liever, if you will.

And, yes, the rum blend is crucial.
_________________Let it not be said that I ran for Mayor of Exotica on a platform of lower taxes and less corruption. My platform is lower rum prices, less reality TV and more rights for Pandas!

Hi folks....
I checked out this thread yesterday in my crazed attempt to figure out what, if anything, can replace orange curacao in a Mai Tai. We're having a Memorial Day Party on Saturday and I thought Mai Tais would be a big hit. I've never made them but I've been shaking cocktails at home for over a year now and mostly stick to classics or variations of. I made my orgeat two nights ago and it's definitely on the sweet side but incredibly delicious.

Here's the thing -- I'm in Pennsylvania and it might as well be Prohibition here with the antiquated liquor laws and regulations. Selection of even the most rudimentary spirits can be hard to come by and guess what...there is NO orange curacao anywhere in this god forsaken place. Yes, there's blue but I think I'd rather use orange juice than make a blue drink that's not supposed to be blue.

I'm still not seeing from this thread whether anyone thinks I can get away with using triple sec or cointreau as a replacement. Keep in mind my orgeat is sweet. I'm not going to add any simple syrup and I will be using Appletons for my base. Not sure about a rum floater but definitely fresh mint.
Oh...someone also mentioned Citron. Is that another possible option?

I'm bummed that I can't do the original but I'm hoping for something better than passing. Nobody at my party will notice if it's not exact but I'll know. If I can create something tasty I'd be ok...